Chapter 209: Day 208

Day 208,

It seems that Maiko walking with me to the Village in the morning is becoming a regular occurrence, and not an unwelcome one.  It’s funny, a few weeks ago I might have rankled at the hovering protection - or at least, I might have interpreted it that way - but I don’t think that's what this is.  We didn’t say much on the way, but it can be nice just to be with someone.  There’s something special about mere physical proximity to someone friendly and familiar.  And sure, the two of us are both content to go for whole days without seeing anyone else (well, I used to be anyway, and I think I’m slowly recovering enough to get there again), it’s a balance one needs to find for themself.  It’s another aspect in what I mentioned before about talking to Maiko being like talking to myself.

I spent the morning working on restorations.  Well, duplication, more like.  One of the older archival records was getting fragile so I’m making a copy.  Figured it would be decent practice for copying Iole’s book as well.  Although if it has illustrations I’m less sure how to handle those.  Trace them maybe?

As I was taking a break for lunch Lin arrived, bags under her eyes and missing the usual spring in her step.  When I asked what happened she told me she’d been up through the night helping her father deliver a baby.  She said she hoped I didn’t mind that she took a nap for a few hours before coming to report it for me to add to the records.

I assured her that of course I didn’t and started pulling over a chair for her and telling her to help herself to the food while I grabbed the current record book.  She accepted in that way that you do when you’re too exhausted to object to any suggestion that comes your way.

One official birth record later (which I may need her to double-check and amend sometime when she’s more lucid) I pointed out how beat she looked and offered up the archive’s bed.  She declined, said she had her own bed and didn’t want to impose, stood up, grabbed the chairback to steady herself, and changed her mind.

As we walked over to the alcove and opened it she mumbled something about probably sleeping better here than at her parents’ anyway.  

I didn’t pry for elaboration on that one.

I’m done with my lunch now and I’ll be getting back to that restoration work here shortly until she wakes up.  As much as I’d like to talk to her about the sarcophagus and maybe even ask for advice about Cass, I know the deliveries are hard on her so this probably isn’t a good time.  Maybe she’d like to hear about the boat updates though.

 

I was packing up to leave for the evening when Lin re-emerged.  I think she put two and two together when she saw me thus because she started apologizing for sleeping there so long.  I gave my best attempt at a good-natured-and-not-condescending chuckle and assured her it was fine.  Way I see it, if someone sleeps that long in the middle of the day it means they really needed it.  

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I closed up for the evening and we walked together a bit until the point where we would have gone separate ways.  With a hesitancy that I wish I could be over by now, I extended an offer to (continue her) crash at my place (“our place” with Maiko there as much as I am?).

She said that she’d been planning on heading to Siren Overlook, but an evening with friends beats out weird magic mood music any day.

I wonder if that’s why I never see anyone else up there? Because everyone else has healthy emotional support networks.

Not that I had much time for that line of introspection at the time.  I was too distracted by Lin abruptly turning and taking off toward the road out of town.  As I scrambled to catch up with her I asked if she needed anything from her house.  She slowed down, perhaps realizing I was having trouble keeping up, and said that she probably did and would probably regret it in the morning but she really didn’t feel like going back right now.

Another statement I’m very carefully not unpacking.

Maiko and Lin were both pleasantly surprised to see that we’d be a trio and not a duo for our walk back once the former emerged from her hiding spot in the tree line.  Made for a livelier than normal walk back.  At one point Lin made a comment about it being a nice evening and the trees and undergrowth being pretty.  It took me aback somewhat, but she was right.  Strange how that which I’d found so beautiful when I’d first arrived barely even registered to me anymore until someone actually said something causing me to really look once more.  The curse of familiarity I suppose.  It’s the same with people too, I think.  Not just appearance but personality, behavior, mind, spirit, whatever you wish to call it.  Spend enough time around an amazing person and they can seem mundane to the point where you start to lose your appreciation for them without realizing it.  Don’t know if that’s better or worse than the alternative of being too enamored forever so that you lose sight of the imperfections that make them a person and not an abstract ideal in your head.

Or at least, that was my own train of thought as I went from watching the trees to watching my companions talk with one another as we walked.  Once again I found myself thinking that I was lucky to have such friends, and for once it was without the undercurrent of feeling undeserving.  Or at least it was until I realized I wasn’t feeling that way, which brought it back, but I was able to consciously silence that voice with some effort.

Once we got back I did manage to pull Maiko aside and let her know that I hadn’t told Lin anything catacomb related yet.  That she’d been not feeling so great after the baby delivery (and maybe some issues with her parents?) so I didn’t want to drop another serious topic on her tonight.  Maybe tomorrow though.  In the meantime though, we did fill Lin in on boat-related updates and talked more about plans for that upcoming outing, which she seemed to be looking forward to about as much as we were.  Lin also brought up the prospect of another overnight trip to the lake of stars while we waited for the boat to finish.  Could be fun.

 

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